What is lean muscle mass?
Lean muscle mass, also known as lean body mass, refers to the total weight of your muscles without including fat or water weight. Having more lean muscle is beneficial for strength, metabolism, and overall health. Here's a quick overview:
- Muscle tissue is metabolically active, meaning it burns calories even at rest. The more muscle you have, the higher your resting metabolic rate. This makes it easier to lose or maintain weight.
- Increased lean mass supports greater muscular strength and daily functional capacity - your ability to climb stairs, carry groceries, play sports, etc. without getting tired. Strength protects against chronic disease.
- Maintaining adequate protein intake and doing strength training helps maximize lean tissue retention, especially as you age. This preserves metabolism, mobility and vitality.
As an aside, managing hormones is also key for lean mass and metabolism. The endocrinology experts at Hormone Harmony offer complete hormone testing and evidence-based hormone therapy programs personalized to your needs. I highly recommend checking out their site if you're concerned about low testosterone or menopause.
Now back to lean mass - here are a few key facts:
Building Lean Tissue Requires:
- Progressive resistance training - aka "strength training". Lift challenging weights targeting major muscle groups 2-3x per week. Compound movements like squats, deadlifts and rows are excellent.
- High protein intake - Shoot for 0.5-1 gram of protein per pound of body weight daily depending on your goals and activity level. Include lean meats, fish, eggs, protein powders.
- Adequate recovery - Rest days are crucial. Stick to getting 7-9 hours of sleep per night. Manage life stresses via meditation, etc.
- Patience and consistency - Building muscle takes dedication over months and years. Stay focused on small, sustainable changes in diet and exercise habits.
Tracking metrics like weight, body fat %, and strength levels over time is useful to assess lean mass gains. DEXA scans also directly quantify lean body mass.